The Whisperer is a virus that exclusively infects the Sianat species. It is an integral part of Sianat culture, and Sianats celebrate it as a religious entity. Once infected, the host and virus are collectively referred to as a Sianat Pair.
Effects[]
The Whisperer's most well known effect is giving the host the ability to process multidimensional space by creating new folds in the brain. This is especially useful on tunnelling ships, which need a Navigator to help them find their way through the sublayer.
Physical effects of the virus include overactive tear ducts and a significantly shortened lifespan. The virus also appears to have neurological effects on the host, changing their behaviour: Sianat Pairs are paranoid about their health, terrified that they might be exposed to something that would affect the Whisperer. This is the reason they live relatively separated lives. Pairs also reject any notion of removing the infection, despite a cure being available.
The Pairing[]
Sianat children are extensively prepared for their infection. They are encouraged to ask as many questions as they like in order to prepare. On the day of their infection, they are separated from their parents and taken to an exposure chamber. After a physical evaluation by a priest, the chamber is filled with an analgesic mist. The child then infects itself by means of a syringe.
Once infected, the Pair goes through a transition period, in which they experience fever and muscle pain. They spend some time in a recovery house before continuing to their chosen college.
The Wane[]
See also: The Wane
The Whisperer has a major effect on the average lifespan of a Sianat Pair. While Solitary Sianats are said to live for "well over a hundred" standards, no Sianat Pair is known to have lived beyond thirty. This is because of the Wane; the inevitable degradation of the nervous system of a Sianat Pair.
The first stage of the Wane consists of stiffness and muscle spasms, which become increasingly difficult to control. Eventually, their nerves will start dying off.
Cure[]
Sianat Pairs generally reject any notion of a cure, because they believe the genetic stability of the virus must be preserved. Ridding oneself of the Whisperer is seen as the worst kind of heresy. The only known place to have a cure is a fringe planet called Arun.
While almost all of the side effects disappear once a Sianat Pair is cured, Solitary Sianats retain the ability to Navigate. This ability, combined with the focus the Sianat regains from being cured, helps them use their understanding for invention. This has allowed the colony on Arun to build complex tech, such as harvesters able to collect ambi from nebulae and space-elevators that are much more compact.
The cure itself comes as a green fluid and is injected using a syringe.
Resistance[]
Some Sianat are naturally resistant to the virus, a notable example being Mas. She described the virus as infecting her low mind but not her high mind, i.e. it did not affect how she thought of herself, but only altered how she thought about space and numbers. Those who are resistant pretend that they are infected as others are, as that is what is culturally expected.